3 Reasons Why I am A Mythicist || Did Jesus Exist?

What's Up Heathens! Today we are talking about 3 reasons why I am a mythicist. This is part of my Did Jesus Exist series and I plan on doing a full set of videos addressing each of the extra-biblical sources for Jesus.

The first reason is Philo of Alexandria. Not only does Philo outline the basic idea of a Jewish Messiah, but he actually uses the name, Jesus. Philo is the perfect example of a first century Jewish Historian that was looking for a messiah figure in the Scriptures. He describes this Messiah as the Logos which the Gospel John directly uses. Philo should definitely cause you to doubt the entire premise of Jesus being original.

Next is the scriptures. There are supposedly 353 prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament. Philo, Paul, and the author of Mark are prime examples of how Jews were looking to the scriptures for information on the Messiah. Paul stresses he never got his info from humans but rather revelation and scriptures. Mark starts off by quoting "scriptures."

Finally, The parallels, mirrors, and allusions in the Bible hurt the idea of historicity. The gospel writers were not writing history, they were writing theology. All the miracles in the Bible are allusions to the prophets of the Old Testament. Several of the stories in the Bible are allusions and parallels to the Old Testament stories. Matthew mirrors the birth narrative of Moses with his birth narrative of Jesus. The very death of Jesus is parallel to Abraham and Isaac.

References:

[godlessengineer]

Hey, Heathens!

So I know that I'll probably get a lot of flack from you guys but I am up for discussion in the comments here. Please be civil.

[JMMRanMA]

My arc went from associating bible stories with other mythologies to [many years later as an adult] Bart Ehrman and, more recently, Richard Carrier. Ehrman's book, "Forged, " is a very convincing takedown of Biblical authenticity which is even recommended by Carrier. You have done a very good job of summarizing, persuasively, Carrier's Mythicist position in a far less wordy [and sometimes loopy sounding] way. Congratulations, keep up the good work.
Addendum: I forgot to mention that you did a much better job of explaining Philo and his influence than Carrier has done, maximum kudos for that!
[ps if my retirement finances were in better order I'd send you more than best wishes.]

[GraceAlone]

Plot twist, Jesus was also a mythicist

[lreadlResurrected]

Nicely done, John.
Philo is key. DSS are further evidence that the kernels that became Christianity came from seeds within Judaism.
Keep up the good work.

[Desertphile]

"Did Jesus Exist?" is the wrong question. The correct question: "Does it matter if Jesus existed?"

[proslice]

Ken Humphreys *JesusNeverExisted* does an amazing job at breaking down your synopsis of the gospels.

[kaoru]

Great video, GE. I enjoyed this. Can't wait to see the next one

[UnholyMole]

Great video GE. You know who my favorite chubby bearded man is? Me of course, but you're definitely number 2...Lol

[Timbo]

Oh, i always like your vids. You know your shit and you always try and find a 'new' angle for discussion so we can travel down the lesser known roads of history..
Well done..

[Shyeena]

Jake Hebert, PHD *(GE, if you have an opinion, I would like you to weigh in.)*

_"The origin of life and the origin of consciousness are arguably the two most difficult things for evolutionists to explain. They must insist that life somehow came from non-living chemicals even though there is zero experimental evidence for this._

_So if man is akin to a biological machine, why do we have consciousness? If that is accepted, then why do computers not have a consciousness?"_

[theapistevist]

See, it's often said that Jesus was a character who took mythical elements from Roman or Greek gods. I'm aware of Philo of Alexandria, and I was aware of his "two persons in heaven" theology where he distinguished between theos (god) and kurios (lord). I thought perhaps even if Jesus was a real person, and if his divinity didn't come from Roman and Greek elements, what about Jewish myths? There is wisdom literature, both apocryphal and pseudepigraphal, where wisdom is personified. Proverbs is also a good example. Compare John 1 with Proverbs 8:22-31. The only difference is logos (reason) is masculine and sophia (wise) is feminine.

[tonydarcy]

How strange that the Jewish carpenter, who also created the universe, leaves so little trace of his Earthly existence ? Almost as if he were a fictional character perhaps ? Why did the Carpenter need all them Godamn minerals n' stuff to make life ? What's wrong with a wooden universe ? ( Sarcasm).

[royc]

Nicely said G.E. looking forward to the next part 👍

[saeed]

OMG You pack in so much info in your videos. I think my brain just exploded :(

[EvoX]

Very nice, measured and logical presentation, GE. One of your best :)

[clemstevenson]

All done with mirrors...There is no actual evidence that any prophecy was fulfilled.  And where, exactly, is the supporting evidence for any of the written claims made about the words, or even the deeds, of Jesus Christ?  Is there supporting evidence for the claim is that people have been ‘saved’?  No. It’s a closed loop, based on beliefs that are taken to be facts.

[magcklean]

I like this topic, I'm quite unfamiliar with it and I'm glad to learn more :)

[guytheincognito]

Great video GE, you make great points. I concur fully 👌😎

[laurajarrell]

GI, though there were probably a few 'rabbis', named yeshua, or jesus, running around preaching at any given time during the occupation of Rome, such is always the case, among people hoping for a savior. Really though, the Hebrew priests had quite a bit of power over their own. That was how Rome operated. The writers of the 'gospels' and the whole new testament, were well versed in the old, and all of it was written, and rewritten, with an agenda. Many times. So, I don't take any of it as real. It was, in my opinion, an account of oral traditions, collected and recounted from and by different authors, with their own beliefs. And they weren't even great writers! Love and Peace

[grendelum]

-So... what is a -*_-Mythicist-_*- exactly?- *Mythicist* - _a person who views various figures of antiquity, including both pagan gods and major biblical characters, as mythical._ *iOS’ **_Look Up_* feature saved me the embarrassment of being _that_ guy...